The opening articles of the proposed EU constitution will not mention God, under a decision taken yesterday by the "praesidium", or steering committee, of a convention charged with drawing up the text.

However, the proponents of a secular constitution may only have won a partial victory. The former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who is chairing the convention, remains keen to have a reference to Europe's religious identity written into a preamble. Read more